The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of geranium, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Bonitoxe2x80x99.
xe2x80x98Bonitoxe2x80x99 originated from a naturally occurring mutation in the variety xe2x80x98Barbe Bluexe2x80x99 that was discovered by C. van Holsteijn in a greenhouse in Honselersdijk, Netherlands, in May 1994.
An apparently completely mutated plant developing white bordered flowers was discovered among a group of flowering pot plants of the parent variety. The parent variety xe2x80x98Barbe Bluexe2x80x99 was characterized by deep purple flower color, small, relatively dark green foliage, and compact growth habit.
Shoot tips of the mutated plant were taken for propagation by the inventor in Honselersdijk during the summer of 1994. The resulting plants were carefully examined for deviations, and proved to be uniform for the new characteristic.
Horticultural examination of plants grown from the plant initiated in the spring of 1998 in Hillscheid, Germany, and continuing thereafter, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Bonitoxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.